Call it my Personal Peach Protest. You see, if ever there's a lesson on the tension between reward and risk when relying on local food sources, for me it's the peach, the glorious orbs of summer that emerge -- most years, but not in 2007 -- from the peach orchards of Missouri and Illinois, completely within the oh-so-chic 100-mile-diet locavore radius of my home in St. Louis. Although perfect fruit from elsewhere is piled high in the grocery, this year I'm putting my peach dollars into another local product, cottage cheese. Read about it in this week's Kitchen Parade column . Oh! And this is Kitchen Parade's first recipe in the brand-new 'kitchen' -- so worth an extra gander! SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occ

A simple but special summer salad, watermelon balls and blueberries tossed in a gorgeous lime and honey vinaigrette. So summery! Fresh & Seasonal. A Summer Classic. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Scales from Small Plates to Large Platters. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free.

Today's summer salad recipe: A summery watermelon salad, one of summer's classic salad treats, an easy no-measuring-required combination of sweet ripe melon, crisp cucumber, a touch of savory onion and crumbles of salty feta. With good watermelon, this salad is way more than the sum of its parts! Fresh & Seasonal. A Summer Classic. Great for Last-Minute Supper Salad. Easy Weeknight Salad. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Vegetarian. Naturally Gluten Free.

For all who follow my food column, Kitchen Parade -- well, it's got a brand-new 'kitchen'! Check out the new digs, finally, over at KitchenParade.com ! SO WHAT IS KITCHEN PARADE, EXACTLY? Kitchen Parade is the food column that my Mom started writing for our family newspaper when I was a baby. Today it's published in my hometown newspapers in suburban St. Louis and features ' fresh seasonal recipes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences '. Where A Veggie Venture is 'pure food blog', full of experimentation and exploration, Kitchen Parade features recipes a modern cook can count on. All are thoroughly tested by a home cook in a home kitchen and many are family and reader favorites. All recipes feature easy-to-find ingredients, clear instructions and because I believe so strongly in informed food choices, nutrition analysis and Weight Watchers points. Want to know more? Explore the brand-new Kitchen Parade , including Kitchen Parad

Today's vegetable recipe: Our old-old family recipe for Ripe-Tomato Relish. It’s a day’s production but there’s nothing the least it “hard” about it either. My mom and I used to make this together, now I manage it alone and it’s so very satisfying, hearing the canning jars go “pop” and storing away jars for later. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". Ripe-Tomato Relish is almost but not quite as thick as chutney. It's made from perfect summer tomatoes, peaches and pears. Even with fruit and sugar, it’s a savory relish, not a sweet jam. In my family, we call Ripe-Tomato Relish "Sharon's Pickle" because my cousin Sharon has loved it so much for so long. The recipe comes from her Grandma Miller so it's now in at least the third generation. I need to work on the fourth generation, who are busy bearing babies aka the fifth generation! Ripe-Tomato Relish is spectacular paired with pork, especially. But I often throw a tablespoon or two into chicken

How to cook a sweet potato in the microwave. It's quick-quick and easy, whether for a fast at-home or office-kitchen lunch or a vegetable for supper. Real Food, Fresh and Fast, a Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Great for Meal Prep. Weeknight Easy. Weight Watchers Friendly (purple plan). Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free.

How to make tomato sauce, not for canning, but fresh for supper. Make it with summer's best tomatoes and eat it straight-away, still warm from the stove, laced with the essence of basil. WAY BACK IN 2007 In the years I was digging my roots as a cook, I had the great fortune to move to Texas – nothing to do with Texas itself and everything to do with the fact that my mother's best friend from grade school lived all of two miles away. Phyllis and her husband tucked me under their culinary wings and on occasion, I'd spend a Sunday on a stool in their working gourmet kitchen, some times helping, mostly wide-eyed and soaking up the possibilities: I'd never heard of the stove-maker Viking, had never known a house with two ovens let alone a third dedicated as a warming oven, didn't know that pastry rolls out best on stone-cold marble. So I have a whole collection of recipes bearing Phyllis' name. This is one. You'll see, it's not fancy food (though Phyllis